“I’m first? Mamma mia”: Leclerc surprises everyone

The Monegasque was 26 thousandths of a second faster than Formula 1 World Championship leader Oscar Piastri in his McLaren in qualifying on Saturday. His teammate Lando Norris will start the 15.00th race of the season on Sunday (14:XNUMX p.m.) in third place. Max Verstappen had to settle for eighth place in his Red Bull. Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton finished a disappointing twelfth.

Leclerc's initial reaction was that he couldn't believe he had just achieved his 27th pole position – and the first for Ferrari since Mexico in October 2024. "What? I'm first? Mamma mia," Leclerc said on the team radio after the feat.

The Ferrari team was overjoyed. © APA/afp / Attila Kisbenedek

"Honestly, I'm at a loss for words. It's probably one of the best pole positions ever because it's so unexpected," he said shortly afterwards. "The entire qualifying session was extremely difficult, and I'm not exaggerating. It was difficult to get into Q2 and Q3. Then the conditions changed. I knew I had to drive a clean lap to maybe get into third place."

Few overtaking opportunities In the final qualifying session, the wind shifted, making things more difficult for everyone. "But there's no reason to complain. We both drove good laps, and it wasn't enough," said Australian Piastri. McLaren definitely had the faster car over the entire race distance, but overtaking opportunities are limited at the Hungaroring.

Fernando Alonso also caused a surprise. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI / POOL

Aston Martin delivered another surprise of the day. The team, which uses Mercedes engines, brought both drivers into the final qualifying session. 44-year-old Fernando Alonso finished fifth, followed closely by his teammate Lance Stroll.

On Friday, veteran Alonso had to miss the first practice session due to a muscular injury in his back. The Spaniard used physiotherapy and special pads in the cockpit, among other things, to alleviate the pain.

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“I’m first? Mamma mia”: Leclerc surprises everyone

This is a big surprise: Charles Leclerc will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position in his Ferrari.

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